Insurance And The Law Of Obligations

The insurance industry has a significant impact on the operation of private law, yet remains poorly understood and under-theorized in the legal literature. Filling an important gap, this book analyses the interaction of insurance law and the general law of obligations, in theory and practice.

This Volume of the AIDA Europe Research Series on Insurance Law and Regulation focuses on transparency as the guiding principle of modern insurance law. It consists of chapters written by leaders in the respective field, who address transparency in a range of civil and common law jurisdictions, along with overview chapters. Each chapter reviews the transparency principles applicable in the jurisdiction discussed. Whether expressly or impliedly, all jurisdictions recognize a duty on the part of the insured to make a fair presentation of the risk when submitting a proposal for cover to the insurers, although there is little consensus on the scope of that duty. Disputed matters in this regard include: whether it is satisfied by honest answers to express questions, or whether there is a spontaneous duty of disclosure; whether facts relating to the insured’s character, as opposed to the nature of the risk itself, are to be presented to the insurers; the role of insurance intermediaries in the placement process; and the remedy for breach of duty. Transparency is, however, a much wider concept. Potential policyholders are in principle entitled to be made aware of the key terms of coverage and to be warned of hidden traps (such as conditions precedent, average clauses and excess provisions), but there are a range of different approaches. Some jurisdictions have adopted a “soft law” approach, using codes of practice for pre-contract disclosure, while other jurisdictions employ the rather nebulous duty of (utmost) good faith. Leaving aside placement, transparency is also demanded after the policy has been incepted. The insured is required to be transparent during the claims process. There is less consistency in national legislation regarding the implementation of transparency by insurers in the context of handling claims.

Providing a comprehensive overview of the body of law that regulates the insurance business, this Advanced Introduction evaluates the governing principles, policies, values, and purposes of insurance legislation and related judicial doctrines. It examines the ways in which the industry’s origins help us understand the present, and how insurance connects to major public policy issues that will shape the world for future generations.

Obligations: Contract Law is a clear and concise textbook which covers a considerable amount of recent developments in the law, including the decision of the House of Lords in Sirius International Insurance (Publ) v FAI General Insurance Ltd (2004) on interpretation of commercial documents and Jackson v Royal Bank of Scotland plc (2005) on damages: loss of repeat orders.

This guide to the law of insurance contracts is now presented in looseleaf format, aiming to make it easy to find answers to contract problems and to allow the information to be continuously updated as the law changes. The depth and range analyzes all aspects of insurance contracts and presents detailed content but with a practical structure making it easy to read and making solutions easy to find.